Natural hazards · Gearhart

Gearhart, OR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gearhart comes from tsunamis, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1996. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Gearhart?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Gearhart to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from tsunamis.

Tsunamis83%Earthquakes10%Inland flooding6%

By hazard

What Gearhart faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Tsunamis

83% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

6% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Lower here

Coastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

HurricanesDroughtAvalanches

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Gearhart flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Gearhart, from FEMA’s records.

4paid claims since 1996

$62Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19962026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Gearhart isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Clatsop County.

Disasters that hit Gearhart

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Gearhart itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Gearhart.

Brought FEMA money into GearhartDeclared for Clatsop County only

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

56 households applied for aid $27K aid approved $63K to the City of Gearhart for repairs

Clatsop County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Gearhart is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Gearhart’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Gearhart. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.